Twin crimp applicator



1966 L. 1.. J. VAN DE KERKHOF 3,

TWIN CRIMP APPLICATOR Filed July 23, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet l Aug. 2, 1966I... L. J. VAN DE KERKHOF 3,263,475

TWIN CRIMP APPLICATOR Filed July 23, 1965 Sheets-Sheet 2 1966 L. J. VANDE KERKHOF 3,253,475

TWIN CRIMP APPLI CATOR 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed July 25, 1963 g 1965 1..L. J. VAN ESE KERKHOF 3,263,475

TWIN CRIMP APPLICATOR Filed July 25, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet i mum-m m 1 HWM 1 u IH MII 1| 'Hliifiilliiiin. 81 82 8A- so I as L 'l L l' l {M MM 1United States Patent "ice 3,263,475 TWIN CRIMP APPLICATOR LodevicusLambertus Johannes van de Kerkhof, s-Hertogeubosch, Netherlands,assignor to AMP, Incorporated,

Harrisburg, Pa.

Filed July 23, 1963, Ser. No. 297,031 Claims priority, applicationNetherlands, July 25, 1962, 281,370 8 Claims. (Cl. 72-381) The presentinvention relates to and has for an object the provision of anapplicator for crimping simultaneously both conductors of a twin wire.

Electrical twin wire consists of a pair of insulated electricallyconductive cores, the insulation of the two cores being joined along theentire length of the wire in order that the cores are retained inparallel juxtaposed relationship. The insulation is usually made ofsynthetic plastic material, with the insulation of one wire beingintegrally formed with that of the other. 7

It is advantageous to crimp simultaneously electrical connectors to thebared conductor core ends of both wires of a length of twin wire,preferably by a crimping press or applicator having two juxtaposedspaced ferrule crimping die sets. Ordinarily, the distance between thebefore-mentioned crimping die sets is greater than the space between thetwo wire ends. In particular, where the twin wire is of highflexibility, it is rather difiicult and time consuming manually toposition the wire ends between the crimping die sets.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an assembly forcrimping twin wire comprising a pair of juxtaposed spaced connectorferrule crimping die sets. A still further object of the invention is toprovide a wire separating mechanism actuable to separate the wires byrelative movement betwen the wires and a wire separating blade. A stillfurther object of this invention is the provision for locating each wirecore end in an electrical.

connector ferrule disposed between the dies of the crimp ing die sets.

Other objects and attainments of the present invention will becomeapparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the followingdetailed description when taken in conjunction with the drawings; it isto be understood however, that the embodiments are not intended to beexhaustive nor limiting of the invention but are given for purposes ofillustration in order that others skilled in the art may fullyunderstand the invention and the principles thereof and the manner ofapplying it in practical use so that they may modify it in variousforms, each as may be best suited to the conditions of a particular use.

The preferred embodiments will now be described by way of example withreference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side view in elevation of part of a press for crimpingelectrical connectors;

FIGURE 2 is a front view of the part shown in FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of the lower portion of the assembly as shown inFIGURES l and 2;

FIGURE 4 is a diagrammatic view of the wire separating mechanism of thepress of FIGURE 1 in one position of operation;

FIGURE 5 is a diagrammatic plan view of the detail shown in FIGURE 4 ina subsequent position of operation;

FIGURE 6 is a plan view of a strip of electrical connectors for use withan assembly according to the invention;

FIGURE 7 is a plan view of a length of twin wire prepared for use withan assembly according to the invention; and

3 ,Z63,475 Patented August 2, 1966 FIGURE 8 is a view of anotherembodiment of the press.

Reference will now be made to the apparatus, referring first to FIGURES1, 2 and 3.

A press ram 2, for the sake of clarity only a portion of the ram isshown, has mounted thereon a wire separating blade 4 which is of agenerally rectangular crosssectional shape having on its frontal face alongitudinally extending knife-like rib 5 and blade side walls 100 and102 which smoothly converge at the bottom of the said blade at a commonpoint.

A first connector crimping die 6 having two crimping recesses 8 and 10,a second connector crimping die 12 having a further similar pair ofcrimping recesses (not shown) and a connector strip shear blade 14 arealso mounted on the ram.

Also aflixed on the ram are two bolts 16, which are located on eitherside of the ram and are axially slidable upwardly in vertical guidepathsas best seen in FIGURES 1 or 2. Bolts 16 are retained in a holder 18against the action of springs 20. A microswitch assembly 22 is providedand has an actuating blade 24 extending between the shear blade 14 andsecond crimping die 12, the microswitch being suitably connected tomeans for initiating a cycle of press upon actuation. The first andsecond connector strip shear plates 26 and 28 are separated from oneanother by a spacer plate 30 and the first and second shear plates arearranged beneath the connector strip shear blade 14. A crimping anvil 32for cooperation with the first connector crimping die 6 and the secondconnector crimping die 12 is located beneath the dies. A wire support 34which supports the wire during the separation period consists of alongitudinal bar with the end of the bar being supported and depressibleagainst the action of springs 36 which are mounted on a pair of bolts 38which, in turn, are axially slidable in a frame 40, the wire support 34being depressible to an extent limited by stop nuts 42. The wire support34 contains a pair of slides 44 which are displaceable away from oneanother against the action of springs 46 in the outwardly direction ofthe wire support. Each slide has an extension 48 which normallyprotrudes through a slot 50 in a wall 52 which extends perpendicularlyto the slides. A lubricating station 54 containing oil felt or the likeis suitably disposed under the slide extension 48 for the purpose ofapplying lubricant to the blade 4.

A base plate 56 on the press frame has feed channels 58 along which astrip of electrical connectors is arranged to be fed to the crimpingassembly by a feed finger, the strips of connectors being held in thechannels 58 by a retaining plate 60.

FIGURE 6 illustrates a section of a strip of electrical connectorsarranged in an end-to-end fashion to be fed along the channels 58. Eachelectrical connector has a first ferrule forming portion 62 arranged tobe crimped to the insulation of an insulated wire; a second ferruleforming portion 64 is so disposed to be crimped to the bared end ofconductor core wire and on receptacle segment 66. The connectors whilein strip form are joined to one another by a metal slug 68.

FIGURE 7 illustrates a length of electrical twin wire prepared for usewith the assembly as shown in FIG- URES 1, 2 and 3. The twin wirecomprises two wires each having insulation and a conductor core 72, theend of each core being bared. To prepare the twin wire for use with theassembly, the insulation is cut along the line 74 at area 76 in orderthat the ends of the two wires be readily separated.

At the beginning of the press cycle, the ram 2 is in its topmost centerposition and the slides 44 are in their non-displaced position with thefree ends of the extensions 48 in abutment as can be noted in FIGURE 2.The

end of the prepared twin wire is initially laid upon the extensions 48with each extension accommodating a wire. The twin wire is advanceduntil its end abuts the microswitch actuating plate 24; this in turnactuates the microswitch and thus initiates a cycle of the press. Whenthe ram 2 begins to descend to carry out its working stroke, the leadingconnectors of the strips are simultaneously being fed along the feedguide channels 58 so that the first ferrule forming portions 62 of theconnectors lie on the anvil 32 beneath the crimping recesses 8 and 10respectively and the second ferrule forming portions 64 of theconnectors lie on the anvil 32 beneath the crimping recesses of the die12. The slug 68 at this time is lying beneath the strip shear blade 14and between the shear plates 26 and 28. The descent of the ram 2 causesthe wire separating blade 4 to be driven between the two wires (as shownin FIGURE 4) thus forcing the slides 44 apart and trapping each wirebetween one side of the wire separating blade 4 and one of the walls 52so that the respective longitudinal axes of the wires are moved awayfrom each other in parallel relationship until their centers areequidistant to the centers of the ferrule forming portions 62 and 64. Asthe ram 2 continues its descent, the free ends of the bolts 16 abut thewire support 34 causing it to be depressed against the action of thesprings 36 so that the end of each wire is lowered into the ferruleforming portions 62 and 64 of one of the leading connectors. The baredend of the core 72 of each Wire is now located in the ferrule formingportion 64 and a part of the insulation of each wire is now located inthe ferrule forming portion 62.

During the remainder of the working stroke of the ram, the bolts 16 arerelatively driven upwardly against the action of the springs 20 and theelectrical connectors are crimped to the insulation and conductor coreends of the wires by dies 6 and 12 in cooperation with the crimpinganvil 32, and the slugs 68 are sheared by the strip shear blade 14 andstrip shear plates 26 and 28'. At the latter part of the working strokeof the ram 2, the end of the wire separating blade 4 enters thelubricating device 54 and absorbs a thin coating of lubricant from theoil reservoir located therein. The ram then continues upwardly to allowthe wire ends with the electrical connectors crimped thereto to beremoved from the assembly, the wire support 34 returns to its initialposition due to the action of springs 36, and the bolts 16 are returnedto the initial position by the springs 20,

According to another embodiment of the invention, which isdiagrammatically illustrated in FIGURE 8, a wire separating blade 4 isrigidly mounted on a base 78 which carries a fixed crimping anvil (notshown) for cooperation with a movable crimping die (also not shown)having two crimping recesses and being carried by a tool holder 18'movable with a suitable press ram. A carriage 80 is carried by the toolholder and is slidably mounted on bolts 82, the tool holder 18 andcarriage 80 being movable relative towards one another against theaction of compression springs 84. The wire engaging members 86 aremounted on the carriage for rotation about screws 88, and are normallyurged into abutment with one another by springs 90. Each member 86 issuitably provided with wire engaging surfaces 92 and 94. Shoulders 96are provided adjacent the blade 4'.

When the ram is in its topmost center position, the end of a length oftwin wire (as prepared according to FIGURE 7) is placed with the edge ofthe blade 4' between the Wires of the twin wire, the wire being advancedso that its free end surfaces engage a microswitch blade in order tocause the ram to perform a working stroke. As the ram descends, thesurfaces 92 of the members 86 engage the twin wire causing the blade tobe driven between the two wires to separate them the members 86 beingmoved apart from one another against the action of the springs 90 by theblade 4'. Both wires are resiliently urged against the blade by one ofthe surfaces 94 as the ram descends, the wires descending with the ramuntil the bared portion of each wire is located in a suitable electricalconnector on the anvil, each wire being simultaneously trapped betweenone of the surfaces 92 and one of the shoulders 96 in order that it issecurely retained in position for crimping. As the ram continues itsworking stroke to effect the crimping procedure, the tool holder isadvanced towards the carrier as the bolts slide axially relative to thecarrier against the action of the springs 84 until the ram has finishedits working stroke. During the return stroke of the ram, the tool holder18, carrier 80 and the members 86 are returned to their respectiveoriginal positions by action of springs 84 and '90.

I claim:

1. An assembly for crimping electrical connectors simultaneously to theends of two juxtaposed electrical wires arranged in parallelrelationship, the assembly comprising a pair of juxtaposed spacedconnector crimping die sets and a wire separating mechanism actuatableto separate the wire ends and to retain the wire ends in their separatedposition, and means for locating each wire end in an electricalconnector disposed between the dies of one of the die sets.

2. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein the separating mechanism ismovable relative to the die sets to position the wire ends in theconnectors.

3. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein the separating mechanismcomprises a wire support carrying a pair of slides displaceable awayfrom one another against the action of springs and a wire separatingblade which moves the slides away from one another to trap each wire endbetween the blade and wall extending axially of the wire.

4. An assembly for crimping electrical connectors simultaneously to theends of two juxtaposed electrical wires arranged in parallelrelationship comprising a crimping station and a wire separatingmechanism which comprises a wire separating blade, a pair of springloaded members being arranged to urge the wires against the wireseparating blade during relative movement between the blade and wires,the spring loaded members being moved away from one another due torelative movement to locate each wire end in an electrical connectordisposed between the dies of one of the crimping stations.

5. An assembly according to claim 4, wherein the spring loaded memberscomprise a pair of slides each movable perpendicularly to the directionof movement of the blade which is carried by a press ram, the bladeurging the slides away from one another against spring action to trapeach wire end between the blade and a Wall extending axially of thewire.

6. An assembly according to claim 4, wherein each spring loaded memberis rotatable by the blade against the action of a spring and has asurface which cooperates with a shoulder fixed relative to the blade toretain one of the wires in position for crimping.

7. An assembly for crimping electrical connectors simultaneously to theends of two juxtaposed electrical wires arranged in parallelrelationship, the assembly comprising a pair of juxtaposed spacedconnector crimping stations and a wire separating mechanism comprising awire support carrying a pair of slides displaceable away from oneanother against the action of springs, a wire separating blade which isarranged to enter a lubricating station towards the end of its workingstroke.

8. An assembly for crimping electrical connectors to the ends of twojuxtaposed electrical wires arranged in parallel relationship, theassembly comprising a pair of juxtaposed spaced connector crimpingstations and a wire separating mechanism comprising a wire support whichis depressible against the action of a spring to an extent limited by astop, a press ram for closing the dies of the crimping stations-having abolt which abuts the support during the working stroke of the ram todepress the sup- 5 6 port, the bolt being axially displaceable againstthe action 2,835,959 5/ 1958 Martines 29155.55 of a spring when thesupport has reached its fully de- 3 115 922 12 19 3 s 72 4 pressedposition.

References the Examiner 5 W. Primary Examiner.

UNITED STATES PATENTS R. D. GREFE, Examiner.

821,667 5/1906 Norton 72-396

1. AN ASSEMBLY FOR CRIMPING ELECTRICAL CONNECTORS SIMULTANEOUSLY TO THEENDS OF TWO JUXTAPOSED ELECTRICAL WIRES ARRANGED IN PARALLELRELATIONSHIP, THE ASSEMBLY COMPRISING A PAIR OF JUXTAPOSED SPACEDCONNECTOR CRIMPING DIE SETS AND A WIRE SEPARATING MECHANISM ACTUATABLETO SEPARATE THE WIRE ENDS AND TO RETAIN THE WIRE ENDS IN THEIR SEPARATEDPOSITION, AND MEANS FOR LOCATING EACH WIRE END IN AN ELECTRICALCONNECTOR DISPOSED BETWEEN THE DIES OF ONE OF THE DIE SETS.